Last year, we got crafty with our toilet paper and paper towel cardboard cores, creating festive holiday ornaments. However, I only needed so many decorations, and there's a endless renewing supply of cardboard cores, so I needed some more ideas.
Enter my sweet kitty Toby, who at 10 years old, has kitten energy and uses multiple scratching toys. Exhibit A, this cardboard scratcher that goes for $9.99 at PetSmart.
This type of toy was the right option to use up LOTS of cardboard, so let the DIY games begin!
Step 1: Cut the TP rolls in half. Thinner rolls can be flattened and cut with scissors, while thicker cores can be cut with a utility knife.
Step 2: Cut up the side of the roll so you have a strip of cardboard, and roll it up into a tight spiral. I rolled it around a pencil to get the spiral started. (You can use any scrap cardboard. Here I'm using coffee sleeves too!)
Step 3: Choose a box that will act as a frame for your scratching board. I used a flat box that held our groceries from Costco. How appropriate that the coffee addicts in our house brought home a Coffee-mate box. :) Start filling the box with rolls. Some rolls you'll leave uncut, as tubes, while the rest will be curled up inside the uncut rolls. Let your cat inspect at various progress points to make sure you are doing it to his satisfaction.
Tip: if you are using scrap corrugated cardboard, check which direction you are cutting. Cutting against the ridges will give you a pocketed appearance, like the roll on the left. Cutting with the ridges will give you the layered look, like the roll on the right. Feel free to alternate, and see what textures your kitty enjoys digging their nails into.
Step 7: Observe your kitty enjoying his new toy. It may have saved you $10 at the store, but you invested many hours of love, rolling cardboard, and he can tell!
Is it a scratcher, or a throne?
Definitely a scratcher.
Or maybe a lounging scratcher.
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